Choice Magazine has just released this year's Shonky Awards. Read about it here
- Humm buy now, pay later
- Knock-off bladeless fans
- Airline Customer Advocate
- Breville FoodCycler
- Kiddylicious Strawberry Fruit Wriggles
2021 Choice Magazine Shonky Awards
scottishdave on 04/11/2021 - 17:19
Last edited 04/11/2021 - 17:37 by 1 other user
Last edited 04/11/2021 - 17:37 by 1 other user
Related Stores
Comments
I love the fan that doesn't even push enough air out that Choice scientists thought it was their equipment that wasn't working. Also the airline advocate a goodone. They just forward your complaints to airlines.
I have a big problem with BNPL and Humm being listed.
Choice places all the blame and responsibility on the company for clients going into debt.
Where is the customer's personal responsibility? Are they not the ones a) signing up to the product b) buying goods they want c) not paying off the balance ?
https://www.choice.com.au/shonky-awards/hall-of-shame/shonky…
The fees are transparent by law, all customers sign that they understand the terms of conditions.
Yet its only Humm's fault when the fees from a $80 spend comes to $40.
I hate them as they promote mindless consumerism.
I trust you apply equal hate towards :
- Lending institutions that promote the Australian dream.
- ALL Retailers of discretionary items.
- Manufacturers like Coca Cola, Nike, Cadbury, Mercedes, Audi, Sony, LG, Apple.
Don't they play a part in said promotion?
Owning a house isn't consumerism. Making things, that people would otherwise not buy due to price, "cheaper", is on bnpl providers. It obviously works, it's why retailers love it and accept it.
@brendanm: Nah owning a home is consumerism. Otherwise if there wasn't demand you could simply rent like many European nations do and still live a normal life.
@plmko: Consumerism is buying things you don't need. People need housing. You are free to choose to rent, and be at the mercy of someone else, for your entire life if you want. I choose to own, and to pay $0 for housing later in life.
I don't know about Humm, but I have been main beneficiaries of BNPL (the one that doesn't do credit check) so although I understand the negative side of it, it really helped with my cash flow and even out big purchases to fit my budget monthly phasing / allocation better.
These “shonky” brands should just sponsor Choice.
“CHOICE Recommended Provider:
How the program worksManufacturers and brands can apply for a non-exclusive licence to use a CHOICE Recommended logo in their marketing, if their product or service is recommended by our experts and published on choice.com.au.
Licences are valid for six or 12 months, depending on how frequently we review the product or service.
Fees are invested in further CHOICE testing and research.
Fees are negotiated on a case-by-case basis.”
They can already just say "winner of Choice 2021 award" but don't specify which award
if their product or service is recommended by our experts
Are you suggesting sponsorship = favourable reviews?
I’m suggesting that if your giving independent reviews, should sponsored by the companies that your reviewing?
I couldn’t imagine the magazine industry was doing that well in 2021
Choice have a good track record of reviewing products without actually ever having them. Like those YouTube channels that do 'reviews' on the marketing material. It would seem this isn't the case for once.
Choice have a good track record of reviewing products without actually ever having them
eh? What is this based on?
https://www.choice.com.au/about-us/editorial-guidelines
"
Product reviews and testingIn most cases we buy the products we test in our labs from retailers, just like you do. We do this so we have the same experience you would when shopping for a product, setting it up and using it.
But to bring you the information you need when you need it, we occasionally have to borrow a product or get an early sample if it isn't yet in stores. We'll only borrow a new retail version of a product (not a special or modified version), and in our review we state clearly that it's been provided by the supplier. We return borrowed products after testing. We don't take unsolicited products for review, and we choose what we review based on the interest of our readers.
Australians know and trust us for our testing process
We have a dedicated team of testers, many of them experienced engineers, who work in our NATA-accredited laboratories.
Our expert technical specialists participate in Standards Australia technical committees.
We test to relevant Australian standards for product safety and energy efficiency.I'd have to go through old deals where people had linked Choice reviews on robot vacuums where they had said they hadn't tested the specific model, but assume it's bad because a previous model was.
The bladeless fan was shown to be completely ineffective, that's why it only scored 44%.
Umm… so a completely ineffective product is still able to score almost 50%? Sounds like the metrics should also win a shonky award.
https://www.choice.com.au/shonky-awards/hall-of-shame/shonky…
How about not linking to a shit media site…?
Thanks Twix